Lubricating means for sewing machine loop takers



oct. 27, 1942. 2,300,388

LUBRICATING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINE LOOP-TAKERS 1 F. PARRY 'Filed o't.`17, 1940 Eav/n/k Parry Wwwess;

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yX/Cg Patented Oct. 27, 1942 LUBRICATING MEANS FOR SEWING MACHINE LOOPTAKERS Frank Parry, Bridgeport, Conn., assigner to The SingerManufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New JerseyApplication October 17, 1940, Serial No. 361,524

9 Claims. I,.(Cl. 184-6) to provide simple and effective means fordelivering a requisite quantity of lubricant, from a substantial supplycontained in a lubricant-reservoir, to the longitudinal bore of aloop-taker shaft at a point intermediate the ends of said shaft and in amanner such that the delivery of the lubricant from the reservoir willbe automatically discontinued upon stopping of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide for requisitelubrication of a thread-carrier raceway of a loop-taker in a mannerinsuring against flooding of said raceway at diiierent speeds ofoperation of the machine, as well as when the machine is idle. Otherobjects of the invention will be apparent from the following.description and claims.

The invention consists in the provision, below the work-support of asewing machine, of a lubricant-supply reservoir and in the means fordelivering lubricant supplied from said reservoir to the bore of aloop-taker shaft connected with the thread-carrier raceway of theloop-taker, as well as in the specific construction and relativearrangement of the reservoir and the loop-taker shaft as hereinafterdescribed in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustratesa preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 represents a vertical section of a portionv of thework-supporting bed-plate of a sewing machine containing the presentimprovement, the section being taken lengthwise of the horizontallydisposed loop-taker shaft below the bed-plate. Fig. 2 represents a topplan view of a portion of the bed-plate of the sewing machine, the bedcover-plates, and the loop-taker shown in Fig. 1 being omitted. Fig; 3represents a top plan view of a portion of theloop-taker shaft as shownin Fig. l.

The sewing machine in part illustrated in the drawing has awork-supporting bed-plate I which is recessed in its upper face toreceive a removable cover-plate 2 disposed in edgewise abutting relationto a throat-plate 3 provided with a needle-aperture 4 and a feed-slot 5.

loop-taker 6 which is complementalto a threadcarrying needle (not shown)in the formation of lock-stitches, said loop-taker being of the hori-Disposed below the throat-plate 3 is a rotary 55 zontal-axis type andbeing constructed substantially in accordance with the loop-takerdisclosed in the U. S. patent to G. A. Fleckenstein et al., No.2,103,899, Dec. 28, 1937.

In general, the loop-taker 6 has a cup-shaped body provided in thecylindrical side wall thereof with an annular raceway 1, and journaledin said race-way is the peripheral bearing-rib 8 of a thread-carrier 9restrained against rotation with the loop-taker in any usual or suitablemanner. The loop-taker 6 also has a =hub I0 formed with a centralshaft-aperture II, the bottom wall of the loop-taker body being providedwith a radial lubricant-duct I2 connecting the shaft-aperture H of thehub with a transverse wick-filled duct I3 opening into the raceway 1.

The hub l0 of the loop-taker 6 is secured by one or more set-screws, asI4, upon the reduced end of a horizontally disposed loop-taker shaft I5provided with a longitudinal bore I6 open at v the loop-taker end of theshaft I5. The shaftbore I5 preferably contains a lubricant-conductingwick I'I extending slightly beyond the open end of the shaft-bore andinto the shaft-aperture II in the loop-taker hub I0. The opposite end ofthe shaft-bore I5 terminates within the length of the shaft I5, and thelatter is provided with a radial lubricant-inlet aperture I8 connectedwith the shaft bore I6 adjacent the inner end of said bore.

The loop-taker end portion of the shaft I5 is rotatably journaled in anantifriction bearing, which in the present case comprises a ball-bearingof which the inner race-ring I9 is force-fitted upon the shaft forrotation therewith, and is held thereupon by a nut 20 engaging athreaded portion 2| of the shaft I5. of the ball-bearing is stationary,being forcetted into an annular recess 23 provided in the end face of alug 24 depending from the bedplate I. The proximate faces of therace-rings I9 and 22 are grooved, as usual, to receivea series of balls25, and a cover-plate 26 secured by screws 2l to the end-face of the lug24 serves to retain the outer race-ring 22 inthe lug-recess 23 and alsoas an obstruction to the entrance of lint and the like into theball-bearing. An aperture 2B in the cover-plate 26 provides clearancefor the race-ring securing nut 20.

The lug-recess 23 constitutes a counter-bored portion of a horizontalaperture 29 provided in the bed-plate lug 24. Disposed in said apertureThe outer race-ring 22 and secured by a set-screw 39 to the lug 24 is asleeve 3| encompassing the shaft I5 and spaced slightly therefrom, oneend of said sleeve 3| being disposed adjacent to but spaced slightlyfrom the inner race-ring I9 of the shaft ball-bearing, and its other endprojecting beyond the end face of the bed-plate lug 24 opposite to thatcontaining said ball-bearing. Seated upon the projecting end of thesleeve 3| is one end wall 32 of a generally rectangular lubricantreservoir 33, said end wall 32 having an aperture 34 snugly receivingthe portion of the sleeve 3| which extends into said reservoir.

The top wall 35 of the lubricant-reservoir 33 has an ear 36 extendingoutwardly beyond the reservoir end wall 31 which is disposed opposite tothe end wall 32 thereof, said ear 36 being secured by a screw 38 to theunder side of the bedplate I. The top wall 35 of the reservoir also hasan upturned flange 39 shaped to fit into a generally rectangular opening49 provided in the bed-plate I, the ange 39 constituting a continuationof theupper portion of the end-wall 32. Removably secured by screws 4Iupon the upper ends of the reservoir Wall 32' and the flange 39 is acover-plate 42 which is substantially flush with the upper face of thebed-plate and is preferably made of some transparent material such aslucite or the like. Secured by screws 43 to the lower edges of thedepending end-walls 32 and 31, and of the front and rear side walls 44of the reservoir 33 is a bottom closure-plate 45, a sealing gasket 45being preferably interposed between the closure-plate 45 and thereservoir walls.

The loop-taker shaft I5, which is loosely embraced by the sleeve 3| asabove described, extends through the reservoir 33 and passes through aclose tting aperture 41 in the reservoir end-wall 31, said shaft beingrotated in any usual or suitable manner (not shown).

Secured by a screw 4B upon the portion of the loop-taker shaft I Withinthe reservoir 33 is the hub of a generally conical oil-slinging member49, said member 49 being disposed directly adiacent the end portion ofthe sleeve 3| within the reservoir 33, so that the periphery of saidmember 49 extends into the rectangular reservoir cavity dened by theupturned ange 39l and by the upper portion of the end-wall 32 of saidreservoir.

The upper portion of the end-wall 32 is provided with an aperture 5|)which is preferably disposed vertically above the longitudinal axis ofthe shaft I5. Extending horizontally through said aperture 59 is alubricant-conducting wick 5I having one end thereof disposed closelyadjacent the periphery of the oil-slinging member 49 and close to theunder side of the cover-plate 42. The wick 5I extends through ahorizontal aperture 52 in the bed-plate I and into a cavity 53 extendingdownwardly from the recessed upper face of said bed-plate to terminateat its lower end in the sleeve-receiving aperture 29 of the bed-platelug 24. The Wick 5I is bent downwardly within the cavity 53 andterminates directly above a vertically disposed lubricant-duct 54 in thesleeve 3I, said duct 54 connecting the cavity 53 with the interior ofthe sleeve 3|.

The loop-taker shaft I5 is peripherally provided with converginglyspiralling threads 55 and 56, of which the proximate end convolutionsterminate at opposite sides of and directly adjacent to the radial inletaperture I9 of the shaft, thereby defining a peripheral shaft-groove 51between the proximate ends of saidn threads 55 and 55.

The shaft threads 56 are preferably disposed directly below thesleeve-aperture 54, the shaftaperture I8 being disposed at one side ofthe sleeve-aperture 54. The loop-taker shaft i5 is furthermoreperipherally provided with a spiral thread 58 within the end portion ofthe sleeve 3|' extending into the reservoir 33, the thread 58 spirallingin the same direction as the thread 55.

It is to be understood from the foregoing description that the sleeve 3|does not constitute a bearing for the shaft I5, and that it merelyserves to conne lubricant so that the threads 55, 59 and 58 may serve tofeed the lubricant length- 'wise of the shaft I5.

By removal of the upper cover-plate 42 therefor, the reservoir 33 may beconveniently supplied with a substantial quantity of lubricant,preferably to the level indicated by a dot-dash line in Fig. l of thedrawing so that the oil- |slinging member 49 merely dips into thelubricant.

The cover-plate 42 having been replaced, and the machine brought intooperation, the oil-slinging member 49 throws lubricant centrifugallytowards the cover-plate 42 and .into contact with the end of the wick 5|which protrudes into the reservoir 33. As the cover-plate 42 istransparent, the adequacy of the lubricant supply may be readilyobserved.

The wick 5| feeds the lubricant lengthwise thereof and discharges itfrom the depending end of the Wick within the bed-plate cavity 53.Lubricant dripping from the depending end of the wick 5|, Within thecavity 53, will pass through the sleeve-duct 54 and will be fed by theshaftthreads 56 to the shaft-groove 51. As the shaftthreads spiraloppositely to the shaft-threads 56, said threads 55 likewise feedlubricant toward the shaft-groove 51, thereby forcing the lubricant toenter the radial shaft-aperture I8. The wick I1 then feeds the lubricantlengthwise of the loop-taker shaft I5, from which shaft the lubricant issupplied to the loop-taker raceway 1 in the usual manner. Y

It will be noted that no lubricant is supplied to the wick 5I when themachine is not in operation, so that there is no tendency to flood theloop-taker raceway 1 when the machine is idle. The wick 5| controls thesupplying of lubricant to the loop-taker shaft bore during the operationof the machine, so that a-minimum of excess lubricant is supplied. Anylubricant which is supplied in excess through the sleeve-duct 54 and isnot fed through the shaft-aperture I8, is free to drain along the innerface of the sleeve 3| into the reservoir 33, and this drainage ismaterially assisted during the operation of the machine by the lubricantfeeding action of the shaft threads 58. The shaft threads 58 alsofunction to prevent entry of lubricant into the sleeve 3| endwisethereof and directly from the reservoir 33. When the machine is idle, aminimum portion of the excess lubricant Within the sleeve 3| will seepalong the sleeve in the direction of the loop-taker and will be suppliedto the ball-bearing for the shaft adjacent the loop-taker.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim hereinis:

1. In a sewing machine having a work-support, stitch-forming mechanismincluding a rotary loop-taker provided with a thread-case raceway, arotary loop-taker carrying shaft having a longitudinal bore connected tosaid raceway, and a bearing for said shaft adjacent said loop-taker,said shaft having a `radial Vaperture connected to said shaft-boreintermediate the ends of vsaid shaft, the improvement which consists inthe provision below said work-support of a lubricantsupply reservoir, astationary sleeve encompassing said shaft and spaced therefrom, saidsleeve being radially provided with a lubricant-duct, alubricant-conducting wick overhanging said 1ubricant-duct and extendinginto said reservoir above the level of the supply of lubricant containedtherein, means rendered effective upon operation of the machine forsupplying lubricant from said reservoir to said lubricant-conductingwick, and means rendered effective by rotation of said shaft forimpelling lubricant lengthwise of said shaft and within said sleeve tothe radial aperture of said shaft.

2. In a sewing machine having a work-support, stitch-forming mechanismincluding a rotary loop-taker disposed below said work-support andprovided with a thread-case raceway, a rotary loop-taker carrying shafthaving a longitudinal bore connected to said raceway, and anantifriction bearing for said shaft adjacent said looptaker, said shafthaving a radial aperture connected to said shaft-bore intermediate theends of said shaft, the improvement which consists in the provisionbelow said work-support of a lubricant-supply reservoir having aperturedend-walls through which said shaft extends, a sleeve encompassing saidshaft in spaced relation thereto, said radial aperture of the loop-takercarrying shaft being disposed externally of said reservoir and withinsaid sleeve, and means effective during the operation of the machine fordelivering lubricant to the radial aperture of said shaft from a supplyof lubricant contained in said reservoir.

3. In a sewing machine having a work-support, stitch-forming mechanismincluding a rotary loop-taker disposed below said work-support andprovided with a thread-case raceway, a rotary loop-taker carrying shafthaving a longitudinal bore connected to said raceway, and anantifriction bearing for said shaft adjacent said looptaker, said shafthaving,a radial aperture connected to said shaft-bore intermediate theends of said shaft, the improvement which consists in the provisionbelow said work-support of a lubricant-supply reservoir having aperturedend-walls through which said shaft extends, said radial aperture of theloop-taker carrying shaft being disposed externally of said reservoir, asleeve encompassing said shaft in spaced relation thereto and having oneend terminating in said reservoir, said sleeve having la radial aperturedisposed externally of said reservoir, lubricant-conducting meansextending from said reservoir to the radial aperture of said sleeve,lubricant-impelling means carried by said shaft within said reservoirfor supplying lubricant to said conducting means during the operation ofthe machine, and means carried by said shaft for impelling lubricantlengthwise of and within said sleeve to the radial aperture of saidshaft.

4. In a sewing machine having a work-support, stitch-forming mechanismincluding a rotary loop-taker disposed below said work-support andprovided with a thread-case raceway, a rotary loop-taker carrying shafthaving a longitudinal bore connected to said raceway, and a bearing forsaid shaft adjacent said loop-taker, said shaft having a radial apertureconnected to said shaftbore intermediate the ends of said shaft, theimprovement which consists in the provision below said work-support of alubricant-supply reservoir, a sleeve encompassing said shaft and havingone end terminating in said reservoir, said sleeve having a radialaperture disposed externally of said reservoir, a lubricant-conductingwick having one end disposed within said reservoir above the level of asupply of lubricant within the reservoir, said wick having its other endoverhanging the radial aperture of said sleeve, lubricantimpelling meanscarried by said shaft for supplying lubricant to said wick during theoperation of the machine, lubricant-impelling means carried by saidshaft and coacting with said sleeve for` feeding lubricant within andlengthwise of said sleeve to the radial aperture of said shaft, andlubricant-impelling means carried by said shaft for feeding lubricantinto said reservoir from the end portion of said sleeve within thereservoir.

5. In a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism including arotary loop-taker provided with a thread-case raceway, and a rotaryloop-taker carrying shaft having a longitudinal bore connected to saidraceway, said shaft having a radial aperture connected to theshaf-t-bore intermediate ,the ends of said shaft, the improvement whichconsists in the provision upon said shaft of two sets of uniformlyspaced and converging spiralling lubricant-impelling threads spaced fromeach other longitudinally of the shaft, the proximate ends of saidthreads defining in said shaft a -circumferential groove containing saidradial aperture of the shaft, a sleeve encompassing the threaded portionof said shaft and spaced therefrom, said sleeve having a radial aperturein the zone of said threads, a lubricant reservoir, and means effectiveduring the operation of the machine for delivering lubricant from asupply in said reservoir to the lubricant-duct of said sleeve.

6. In a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism including a,rotary loop-taker provided with a thread-case raceway, a rotaryloop-taker carrying shaftl having a longitudinal bore connected to saidraceway, said shaft having a radial aperture connected to saidshaft-bore intermediate the ends of said shaft, an an antifrictionbearing for said shaft adjacent said loop-taker, the improvement whichconsists in the provision upon said shaft of convergingly spirallinglubricant-impelling threads spaced longitudinally of said shaft anddisposed at opposite sides of said radial aperture of the shaft, alubricant reservoir, a sleeve encompassing the threaded portion of saidshaft, one end of said sleeve providing lubricant-conducting connectionswith said antifriction bearing and the other end of said sleeveextending into said reservoir above the level of the supply of lubricanttherein, and means effective during the operation of the machine fordelivering lubricant from the supply in said reservoir to thelubricant-duct of said sleeve.

'7. In a sewing machine having stitch-forming mechanism including arotary loop-taker provided with a thread-case raceway, a rotarylooptaker carrying shaft having a longitudinal bore connected to saidraceway, said shaft having a radial aperture connected to saidshaft-bore intermediate the ends of said shaft, the improvement whichconsists in the provision of a lubricant-supply reservoir, a sleeveencompassing said shaft and provided with a radiallubricant-duct, saidsleeve having one end thereof extending into said reservoir above thelevel of a supply of lubricant therein, lubricant-impelling meansdisposed within said'reservoir, luhricantconducting means extending fromsaid reservoir for delivering lubricant to the radial lubricant-duct ofsaid sleeve, and means effective during the operation of the machine forpreventing direct entrance of lubricant, into the sleeve from saidreservoir.

8. In a sewing machine, a rotary loop-taker provided with a thread-caseraceway, a rotary loop-taker carrying shaft provided with a longitudinalbore having lubricant-conducting connections With said raceway, saidshaft having a lubricant-inlet aperture intermediate the ends of theshaft and open to said shaft bore, a` bearing for said shaft adjacentsaid loop-taker, a lubricant-supply reservoir housing a portion of thelength of said shaft, a sleeve encompassing said shaft in spacedrelation thereto, and radially provided with a lubricant-duct, saidsleeve having an open end thereof terminating in said reservoir,lubricant-conducting means spaced from a supply of lubricant within saidreservoir and disposed to feed lubricant to the lubricant-duct of saidsleeve, lubricant-impelling means carried by said shaft Within saidreservoir for supplying lubricant to said conducting means'during theoperation of the machine, and means rendered effective by rotation ofsaid shaft for impelling lubricant lengthwise of said shaft and Withinsaid sleeve to said lubricant-inlet aperture of the shaft.

9.'In a sewing machine, a rotary loop-taker provided with a thread-caseraceWay, a rotary loop-taker carrying shaft having a longitudinal boreconnected to said raceway, said shaft having a lubricant-inlet apertureintermediate the ends of the shaft and open to said shaft bore, a sleeveencompassing said shaft in spaced relation thereto and provided with alubricant-duct intermediate the ends of said sleeve, an antifrictionbearing for said shaft adjacent said loop-taker, a lubricant-supplyreservoir, a lubricant-feeding Wick disposed to deliver lubricantsupplied from said reservoir into the lubricant-duct of said sleeve, andmeans rendered effective by rotation of said shaft for impellinglubricant lengthwise of said shaft and Within said sleeve to saidlubricant-inlet aperture of the shaft.

FRANK PARRY.

